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Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda attended the first meeting of the Reconstruction Promotion Committee at the Prime Minister's Office.

A moment of silent prayer was observed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake, following which discussion took place on procedures of the Committee meetings, the way to proceed moving forward, issues for reconstruction, and other matters.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address, "The Government has made every effort for the recovery and reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The implementation of the first to the fourth supplementary budgets of FY2011 -- this is something we have to do with a sense of urgency. In addition, the FY2012 budget now being deliberated includes budgetary allocations for reconstruction in the amount of approximately 3.8 trillion yen.
In February, the Reconstruction Agency was initiated. By eliminating the negative effects of vertically segmented bureaucracy on the responses to the wishes and requests of the disaster-affected areas, I expect that the Agency will fulfill its role as a control tower that ensures the provision of a one-stop response.
Preparations have been made also for these systems and organizations. Unfortunately, however, we sometimes receive requests stating that the response is still slow or the response is not reaching everyone. By overcoming these problems, this year I would like to further speed up the initiatives for reconstruction.
For the reconstruction from the earthquake and tsunami damage and the nuclear power disaster, I would like to ask the Reconstruction Promotion Committee to study and discuss the implementation status of the Government's measures and identify their challenges. The Government would like to take in earnest the opinions of the affected areas and amend items that should be amended, and thereby, speed up the initiatives for reconstruction."